This invention relates generally to an apparatus for bending an upstanding flange along the edge of a panel.
Flange bending apparati for pre-bending upstanding flanges are known in the art. One example of such an apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,208 issued Nov. 9, 1999 to Hartley and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Hartley discloses a flange bending apparatus that including a flanging steel supported on a frame for movement between a generally radially inward retracted position and a generally radially outward extended position. In the generally radially outward position the flanging steel overlies at least a portion of an inside perimeter of an opening in two sheet metal panels that have been located in a position on the apparatus to be hemmed together along the inside perimeter. The flanging steel engages and bends downward an upstanding hem flange of one of the panels that extends upward, i.e., in a direction normal to the radial motion of the steel, from around the inside perimeter of the opening. The flanging steel bends the upstanding hem flange along a pre-existing break line or bend line. The break line that the flanging steel bends the flange along is formed in a preceding operation in which the hem flange is bent to extend perpendicularly upward from a lower one of the two panels. The flange bending apparatus of the Hartley patent includes an actuator operatively connected to the flanging steel and configured to reciprocally drive the flanging steel between the retracted and extended positions when two sheet metal door panels are supported in a position to be hemmed together. However, a flange bending apparatus constructed according to the Hartley patent is unable to bend an upstanding flange of a sheet metal panel where the flange has no pre-existing break line to facilitate and guide the bending.
A flange bending apparatus is provided for bending an upstanding flange along an inside perimeter of an opening in a panel, such as a window opening in an automotive door panel. The apparatus includes a frame configured to support a metal panel workpiece and a first flanging steel supported on the frame for movement between a generally radially inward retracted position and a generally radially outward extended position. The apparatus also includes a flanging steel drive including an actuator operatively connected to the first flanging steel and configured to reciprocally drive the first flanging steel between the retracted and extended positions. The retracted position of the first flanging steel allows a metal panel workpiece to be positioned on the frame with the flanging steel extending through an opening in the workpiece. The first flanging steel overlies a first portion of an inside perimeter of the opening when the first flanging steel is in the extended position. The first flanging steel is positioned and configured to engage an inner surface of an upper first portion of an upstanding workpiece flange that extends generally axially upwardly from around the inside perimeter of the opening in the workpiece and to bend the upper first portion of the workpiece flange radially outward when the actuator moves the first flanging steel from the retracted to the extended position.
The first flanging steel and frame are configured to bend the upper first portion of the workpiece flange radially outward such that a lateral bend line is formed along the flange where no breakline was present before bending. Therefore, a flange bending apparatus constructed according to the invention is able to bend an inside perimeter edge of a sheet metal panel where the sheet metal panel has no pre-existing break line to facilitate and guide the bending and where the edge of the sheet metal panel defines an opening in sheet metal panel.
The invention also includes a method for bending an upstanding flange along an inside perimeter of a panel, such as an automotive door panel, that defines an opening, such as a window opening, in the panel. According to this method one can bend such an upstanding flange by movably supporting a first flanging steel on a frame, providing a flanging steel drive on the frame and operatively connecting it to the first flanging steel. While the first flanging steel is in a retracted position, a metal panel workpiece is provided on the frame such that the first flanging steel extends through an opening in the workpiece. The first flanging steel is then moved radially outward from the retracted position toward a generally radially outward extended position where the first flanging steel overlies a first portion of an inside perimeter of the opening. As the first flanging steel is moved radially outward it engages an inner surface of an upper first portion of an upstanding workpiece flange that extends generally axially upwardly from around an inside perimeter of the opening in the workpiece. The flanging steel then bends the upper first portion of the flange radially outward such that a lateral bend line is formed along the flange where no breakline was present before bending.
Objects, features and advantages of this invention include the ability to bend an upstanding flange along one lateral side of an inside perimeter of an automotive window opening in a metal door panel where the flange has no pre-existing break line, the ability to do so while simultaneously bending the upstanding flange along an opposite lateral side of the window opening and along an top edge of the window where the sheet metal panel does have a pre-existing break line, and a robust construction that allows for producing multiple bends in upstanding flanges of successive panels in an assembly line process where the flanges have no pre-existing break lines to facilitate such bending.